Pilates Classes Stafford VA

This page provides useful content and local businesses that can help with your search for Pilates Classes. You will find helpful, informative articles about Pilates Classes, including "Finding a Reputable Pilates Studio and Instructor", "Pilates: Building a Mind-Body Connection", and "Pilates and the Power of Commitment". You will also find local businesses that provide the products or services that you are looking for. Please scroll down to find the local resources in Stafford, VA that will answer all of your questions about Pilates Classes.

Finding a Reputable Pilates Studio and Instructor

Because the title “Pilates” can be used to describe any type of exercise that incorporates some aspect of the original Pilates method, finding a legitimate, effective, and safe studio with reputable instructors can be a consuming process.

The original method designed and taught by Joseph Pilates is practiced today at studios that trained under the Romana’s Pilates Method or Authentic Pilates Method. Romana Kryzanowska was Joe Pilates’ protégé and the one he chose to carry on his legacy before he died in 1967. Today Romana is in her 80’s, is still teaching through out the country, and continues to be the foundation of his method. Many branches of Pilates beyond these methods have altered or diffused the original system and have implemented new exercises and techniques that are not technically Pilates. The original method and its followers subscribe to a very high standard of practice.

The Original Pilates Method:

Is taught by instructors that either trained directly under Romana or by one of her direct Pilates descendants. Teaches quality over quantity. The exercises are done with careful precision and only a few repetitions, maximizing the effects of the work by how the exercises are executed, not by the number of repetitions. Follows a carefully designed sequence. On the Reformer and the Mat, the apparatuses that are the basis of the system, there is a sequence of exercises meant to be followed in a certain order, so as to maximize the benefits of Pilates. Of course there are different levels of difficulty within the system, so the routine varies slightly for individuals. Plus each person has their own needs, so the system is used to support that, using other equipment like the Wunda Chair, Cadillac, Ladder Barrel, and several peripheral apparatuses. Also, look for a studio that uses Gratz equipment. Follows strict safety guidelines. The Pilates system should always be taught by an instructor that adheres to the “safety first” policy. If the equipment is misused or a client is worked beyond their strength level, injuries can occur.

On a more personal level, you want to find an atmosphere you feel comfortable in and an instructor whose personality and approach works best with you. Do you prefer a private setting where no other clients are present? Or are you more comfortable when others are exercising around you? Some studios are larger and can accommodate many private sessions at once, where as some offer more of an intimate spa-like environment. In terms of instructor types, do you prefer a man or a woman? A softer, gentler encouraging voice? Or someone with a tougher “coach” quality ready to push you when you need it? Finding the “right” instructor at a studio might be a trial-and-error process. I recommend trying a few different people at first. Also, it may be beneficial to work with more than one person on an ongoing basis to gain different perspectives. Everyone has a different eye, even though they should be teaching the same te...

Pilates and the Power of Commitment

I say to any new client, “It will probably take at least five lessons before you even get a sense of the exercises.” Pilates is a very different experience from other types of exercise. At the beginning, it is normal to not feel the full benefits of the technique. So you should ask yourself what it is you want to gain from Pilates. If you want a firm, flat tummy within a few weeks in preparation for an upcoming trip to the beach, you would probably benefit more from taking a few abdominal classes. However, if you are looking to strengthen, align, elongate, and energize your entire body and your mind (and develop a firm, flat tummy), then you should consider Pilates.

Many people misunderstand Pilates to be solely a regimented series of exercises that is meant to strengthen the core and perhaps the legs, while accomplishing little else. In fact, Pilates is a holistic system of exercise that – over a committed period of time – actually re-trains both the body and the mind to function in an integrated, healthier, more energy-efficient way. It is true that Pilates will strengthen your abdominals intensely, but this is accomplished by activating the deepest muscles of the core in order to support the larger, more visible (6-pack) muscles around them.

The overall benefits of learning to effectively use the “core” muscles in Pilates are often life-changing and very addictive. This is true because, practicing Pilates 2 to 3 times per week over the committed course of a few months will generally change a lot more than your stomach’s appearance. You will feel and look taller, stronger, more coordinated and graceful in movement, and your mind will start to focus in a different way during your daily life. You also gain more energy, while high impact activities like sports – or other physically strenuous tasks – become easier. All of this comes only after committing to practicing Pilates consistently over a period of time.

Here are a few other points to keep in mind if you decide to try Pilates. You may not be sore after the first few lessons. The truth is, the more you do it, the more you feel it. This tends to be true for a couple reasons. One, Pilates requires the mind to connect to the body in order to understand the exercises. There are so many layers of experience in Pilates, and advancing from one “layer” to the next requires the mind/body connection. This results in learning to consciously control your movements – on a very deep level – with your mind. Over time, you will feel how this works. Second, the effectiveness of the Pilates system is found by learning carefully executed, often quite subtle techniques of movement, that usually involve unlearning a lifetime of bad habits and weaknesses. You learn to use your body in the most effective way – which requires focus and precision. Such detail, combined with flow of movement, also takes time to understand and t...

Pilates: Building a Mind-Body Connection

Let’s blame it on laptops, plasma TVs, and free delivery. Lifestyles today have become sedentary. We use our minds, our words, and our fingertips to accomplish most daily tasks, leaving our underused – or misused – bodies at the wayside. This causes a disconnection between the body and the mind, resulting in a lack of awareness for our body’s need for healthy activity – the less we exercise, the less we want to exercise. This mind-body disjunction often leads to poor posture, muscular imbalance and weakness, chronic discomfort or pain, and even psychological struggles with depression. Though maintaining any type of physical fitness is beneficial to the body and mind, it is important to find an exercise system that requires mental concentration as the source of movement, forming a mind-body connection. Pilates, though known primarily for its core-based and toning benefits, is an effective and healthy exercise system because it is practiced with mindful precision and deep concentration.

Strength from the inside, out : The Pilates technique teaches the mind to recognize and understand the deep framework of the body, how to feel muscular and structural imbalances, and finally how to correct them and become aligned, supple, and strong. Using the mind to carefully guide the movements, the exercises themselves teach us how to visualize the relationship between the muscular and skeletal system. For instance, how many people are aware of the “space” between their hip bones and their ribcage? And how many know the importance of maximizing that space by toning and lengthening the deep abdominals and back muscles found there – with every movement? With mindful precision, the internal structure of the body can be subtly manipulated. If we can manipulate our bodies with our minds, we can correct misalignments and unhealthy posture, balance muscle groups making sports or daily activities easier, safer, and more enjoyable, and we can remember how to feel the strength of our body and all that it’s capable of doing. Reduced physical stress : One of the benefits experienced first when learning Pilates is that we start to notice where we carry our stress, which is the first step toward releasing it. Commonly held in the shoulders, neck, and lower back, that unnecessary tension is a burden to bear. And apart from eliminating the root causes for that stress (unfortunately often things we cannot live without – work, family, relationships, money), the next best thing is to change our relationship to how we move and feel our bodies. The deep concentration involved with Pilates teaches us to become aware of our unconscious tensions in a way that allows us to consciously release them. People begin to recognize these tensions as a lifetime of bad habits. They also may notice the tension has roots beyond the obvious – in such places like the ankles or feet, the throat, the stomach or buttocks area, even the...

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